Sick to his stomach

My eyes are spent with weeping;
    my stomach churns;
my bile is poured out to the ground
    because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
because infants and babies faint
    in the streets of the city. (Lamentations 2:11)

The destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering of the people is gut-wrenching. The whole scene makes Jeremiah sick to his stomach.

His words made me wonder, “Have I ever seen anything that made me want to throw up?”

Some people lose it when they see blood or a hypodermic needle. Neither bothers me. Pictures of an especially violent car crash might make me a little queasy, but not too bad. I used to find vomit or poop disgusting, but after raising kids, helping care for grandkids, and cleaning up after puppies, I got used to it. I might lose it watching an autopsy, but I’ll probably never find out.

I’ve never seen the violence Jeremiah witnessed. Perhaps I’ve never seen the suffering his family and friends endured. Devastation has never hit my home and my community as it did his.

Or, I’ve become desensitized to violence, destruction, abuse, and killing. Jeremiah didn’t see any of that on television or in movies. He experienced it first hand, and it was like a punch to the gut.

It bothers me that I’ve been desensitized. Can I get that back, or is that just the way I’m going to react to the world around me now?